


The One That Could Have Been

by superstars_stripes



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Deja Vu, F/M, Flashbacks, M/M, Memory Alteration, Memory Related, Mind Control, POV Multiple, Reality manipulation, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-01-30 06:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12647670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superstars_stripes/pseuds/superstars_stripes
Summary: Years after Loki and the Chitauri attacked New York; the Avengers are all living happily at Stark Tower, until a mysterious scientist builds a machine that changes reality and the Avengers get to live life as if they had never been united by fate. What if Howard found Steve in 1946? What if Thor never left Asgard? What if Bruce was never the Hulk? What if SHIELD never hired Clint or Natasha? What if Afghanistan never happened to Tony? What if the Avengers never became superheroes and saved the world?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story will center around STONY, but it will include several side pairings. 
> 
> Important to note: the rating will probably change in the future (I can garantee it), and tags and characters will be added as I update. Enjoy everybody.
> 
> This is a WIP, I will try to update regularly, but don't hold your breath. I will post it though, the story is almost finished so I have no plans to abandon this story.

Tony saw a ray of light shooting up to the sky a second before Jarvis relayed the information about strange readings coming from the machine. He knew that if the machine was running, it was anything but good news.

He vaguely heard the chatter coming from his team on the comms. He heard Cap relay an order, but he couldn’t wait and he told him as much.

As soon as Coulson had spotted them, he had seen the machine. He had seen the schematics before, knew the possibilities and he had to make it to the machine before it was activated. He had to shut it down. His team depended on him, at this point they were his family and he couldn’t lose them. He couldn’t lose Steve.

A bright burst of light, followed by loud static, blinded Tony and then everything went dark.

*

**24 Hours Earlier** :

Before Afghanistan, if anyone would have asked Tony Stark how he pictured his future, he probably would have laughed at the notion of his life being more than strangers in his bed, alcohol, and money. Even being a genius he would never have imagined the events that led to him living in New York, having a team, and being in a stable relationship. It was never in his life plan, things just happened that way and even if those events were more than a little painful – or heart wrenching at times - he wouldn’t trade them. All those moments led to this point in time and, if he was being honest, there was nothing better than waking up next to the love of his life. Because there was no doubt that the great Tony Stark had found his other half.

“Morning.”

“Mmm, morning.” Tony sleepily replied, smiling up at blue eyes that never failed to make his heart skip a beat.

“Someone woke up in a good mood.” Steve kissed the top of Tony’s head, holding on to him tightly, as if afraid that Tony would move away. _As if I would ever want to be anywhere else._ Tony thought as he let himself be held.

“You’d be in a good mood too if you woke up in the arms of a gorgeous, muscular blonde.” Tony said with a wink.

 “Really? Well I’d have to ask Thor to help me out with that one of these days.” Steve remarked in a teasing tone.

Tony gaped up at Steve. “What! No, no, no. I take that back, waking up next to a gorgeous blonde is not all its hyped up to be. In fact-”

Steve chuckled and pulled Tony up for a kiss.

“You’re ridiculous you know that?” Steve uttered when their lips parted, “Besides, I’d much rather wake up next to a gorgeous, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist any day.”

“I resent that, I am not a playboy anymore.”

Steve smiled at that, “I know.”

Tony huffed and glared half-heartedly and won another chuckle from Steve. “Captain America being smug, what has this world come to?” Tony mumbled as he got out of bed.

“What are you doing today?” Steve asked, sitting up on the bed.

“Although I would love to say _you_ ,” Tony winked over his shoulder, earning a blush from the blond. “Pepper wants me to attend some boring share holders meeting and there is some other stuff I have to look into with R&D.”

“Oh.” Steve said sounding a little disappointed and slumped back on his pillow.

“Why?” Tony asked, turning toward Steve, walking over to climb on his lap as soon as he saw his lover’s pout. “Got any better ideas for today?”

Steve placed his hands on Tony’s hips and began to rub circles with his thumbs. “Well I was just hoping we could have lunch together.”

Tony leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss. “Mmm, that sounds great, but I’ll probably be stuck at SI most of the day. How about we make that dinner instead?”

“It’s a date.” Steve smiled.

“You got it.” Tony gave him one last kiss, grinding his hips and causing the man underneath him to moan, before getting up and making his way to the bathroom.

“Tease.”

“You know you love it.”

“I really do.” Tony heard him say before he closed the door.

How did Tony Stark get so lucky? His life was great. He may have never imagined his life like this, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

*

“Looks like we got a job, boys.” The burley one with the crowbar announced as he entered the warehouse.

“A job? With the Avengers out there? I thought we were taking a break?” The one with the metal helmet on his head replied with a suspicious glare. He could see the three other members of the Wrecking Crew – as they called themselves - sitting on the crates in the middle of the room.

“Yeah, I’m with hard-head over here. Besides I thought the fact that Thor is still on earth was a mighty good reason not to mess with the Avengers.” This time the one without a weapon spoke up.

“Well according to our new employer, if we do this job right, we won’t have to worry about the Avengers for much longer.” The leader told them all with a vicious smile on his face.

“Yeah? And who is our employer?” The one holding the demolition ball asked.

By the looks of things, he wouldn’t have to try too hard to control this group of criminals.

“That would be me.” Killgrave spoke up as he stepped out from the shadows, making his presence known to the group of hired thugs.

“Who’s the purple guy?” The one with the demolition ball – Thunderball if he wasn’t mistaken – asked.

“All in good time my friend. All in good time.”

*

“Good morning Avengers.” Pepper chimed from the entryway to the kitchen. “What smells so good?”

“Morning.” Clint and Natasha greeted from their seats at the kitchen island, where they were already having breakfast. Bruce turned to greet her as she strode over to the coffee machine as she usually did every morning. “Good morning. Would you care for some pancakes, _Ms. Potts_?”

Pepper turned and glared at him, something she also usually did every time Bruce – or anyone in the tower really - addressed her as anything but Pepper. “No, thank you, _Doctor Banner_.” She replied in an equally teasing tone. Everyone in the tower had long since learned to refer to her as Pepper but Bruce couldn’t help but tease the woman every now and then. It was something that had started back when she was still dating Tony and never really stopped.

Bruce chuckled and went back to making breakfast while Pepper filled up two mugs of coffee, one for herself, the other for Tony no doubt.

“Where’s Betty this morning?” Pepper asked as she sat next to Natasha and sipped her coffee.

“She’s upstairs with Jane.” Bruce answered without turning away from the stove.

“No doubt going over Jane’s latest readings.” Pepper said with a laugh.

Betty had gotten a very loud and apparently very necessary call from Jane at 4 am after the machine – the LITOS - she was currently working with received some interesting data that could “lead to a change in the way people travelled” – at least that is what Bruce could decipher from Betty’s end of the conversation. “Yeah, did she call you too?”

“Yes, she did.” Pepper replied moments before Tony walked into the kitchen and said, “She didn’t call me.”

“Probably because she didn’t want your input on how to _improve_ the project, Stark.” Natasha quipped before turning back to her conversation with Clint.

Clint snickered while Bruce and Pepper laughed from their place in the kitchen, Pepper handing Tony his coffee before focusing her attention to her phone and berating Tony for being late.

“Want some breakfast, Tony?” Bruce asked from the stove, moving the last of the batter into the pan.

“No, thanks, Bruce. Tony doesn’t have time for breakfast this morning.” Pepper answered for Tony and the billionaire shrugged as he drank his coffee.

“You know, Cap won’t be too happy if he finds out Tony had nothing but coffee this morning.” Clint teased as Bruce served himself a plate and turned off the stove.

“Shut it, Barton!” Tony yelled at the same time Pepper grabbed an apple of the counter and handed it to Tony.

“Tony can eat an apple for now, plus I’m sure the interns will have some sort of breakfast ready at the office. Come on, we have a very important meeting to get to.”

“Quick Bruce, trade places with me.” Tony pleaded as Pepper dragged him out of the kitchen.

“Nope. I’m good.” Bruce laughed then yelled after Pepper. “Have a good day, Ms. Potts.”

“Up yours, Doctor Banner.” Pepper replied as the elevator dinged its arrival. Bruce could hear Pepper berating Tony and heard him groan in frustration before the elevator closed. He turned his attention to Clint and Natasha who seemed to be discussing “S.H.I.E.L.D. business” - or gossiping he couldn’t really tell half the time.

“Fury is just a being a baby.”

“You shot two trainees in the ass yesterday.”

“Wait, you did what?” Bruce chuckled, turning to raise an eyebrow at the assassin.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. They weren’t paying attention and were slacking off so I _may_ have shot off a few arrows, and they _may_ have landed on their ass. It’s not my fault if they didn’t move out of the way in time. If they had been paying attention they would have seen it coming.” Clint defended himself, sounding more than a little pleased.

“And now Fury wants Cap to bench him from the team if he doesn’t apologize.” Natasha said in an amused tone.

“Which totally isn’t fair.” Clint whined and banged his head on the table dramatically.

“Does Cap know yet?” Bruce asked, reaching toward Clint’s shoulder to pat his team mate.

“No.” Natasha answered for Clint as she got up to get juice from the fridge. “Coulson is probably going to come by later and tell him though, which is why I told Clint he should man up and apologize before Steve finds out.”

“But I don’t want to.” Clint complained as he sat up and pouted at Natasha.

Bruce squeezed Clint’s shoulder. “Would you rather have Cap bench you?” Bruce asked from Clint’s side, causing the other man to grunt and shrug Bruce’s hand off his shoulder.

“Dude, whose side are you on?”

“Look, Cap is probably down in the gym right now with Sam. Maybe if you go down there before Coulson gets here and explain that it was an ‘ _accident’_ he won’t bench you. And then you won’t have to apologize.” Bruce suggested.

“But you’ll have to do it in the next 30 seconds because Coulson is on his way up.” Natasha supplied from where she was leaning on the counter. “

“What?!” Clint looked up alarmed just as Coulson walked into the kitchen.

“Getting a bit slow Agent Romanoff, I got here a good 15 seconds ago.” Coulson teased Natasha and was awarded a glare. Coulson then pulled out two files and handed them to the assassins. “But never mind that, it looks like you’re in luck Agent Barton, you two have a job so I guess Cap won’t be finding out about yesterday’s little incident just yet.”

“What little incident?” Steve asked as he and Sam came into the kitchen.

“Later Captain, right now S.H.I.E.L.D. needs Agents Barton and Romanoff.” Coulson answered as Clint and Natasha went over the files Coulson brought in, both were already in what Bruce liked to refer to as _Agent mode_ , backs straight and wearing serious expressions. “Now if you’ll excuse us. Have a good day gentlemen.”

Bruce laughed as the three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents made their way to the elevator.

“What was all that about?” Sam asked, still looking a little confused.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know. Would you boys like some breakfast?” Bruce asked pointing to where the stack of pancakes was sitting on the counter. “I made plenty.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Steve replied with a small smile and made his way across the kitchen. “Has Tony left yet?”

“Yeah, he and Pepper left about 10 minutes ago.” Bruce answered and they both jumped when they heard a commotion coming from outside the kitchen, making Sam laugh at their reaction.

“Has anyone ever told you guys you are too stressed?” Sam teased, earning an eye roll from Steve and a piece of orange to the face, courtesy of Bruce.

Bruce shook his head and took a deep breath, suppressing a shudder at the thought of hulking out with so many of his friends in close quarters. It has been a while since the last time he accidentally hulked out and he would hate to break that streak let alone hurt his friends in the process, again.

“My friends!” Thor bellowed as he made his way into the kitchen, Betty and Jane following closely behind. “Have you heard about the incredible finding of my fair Jane?” Bruce and Steve visibly relaxed when they saw that the commotion was only coming from Thor. An excited Thor was usually a loud, if not destructive, Thor so it was no surprise that he was wrecking havoc in celebration for Jane’s discovery.

Steve chuckled from his place in the kitchen and patted Thor on the shoulder as he went to sit down. “Yeah we heard. Congratulations again Jane.”

“Congrats Jane.” Sam lifted his drink toward Jane.

“Yeah, congratulations.” Bruce added with a smile as Betty made her way to his side.

“Thank you, boys.” Jane replied with a smile and made her way to sit by Thor who had already started telling Steve all about Jane’s marvelous findings.

“What are you smiling at?” Betty asked in an amused tone from Bruce’s side.

Bruce looked up at her and took her hand in between both of his. “Nothing.” Betty laughed, a sweet carefree laugh, and leaned down to place a small chaste kiss on his lips. The moment, however, was broken by the alarms going off and Jarvis informing them that Fury was on the line.

“Captain Rogers, I need you and all the available Avengers down at the Federal Reserve Bank at Liberty and Williams immediately. Coronel Rhodes, and Agents Barton and Romanoff are otherwise engaged so you will have to make do with whoever is on hand.”

“Any idea what we're up against?” Steve asked in his Captain America voice as he made his way to the quinjet hanger, “Will we need Doctor Banner or the Hulk?” He asked as an afterthought, for which Bruce was grateful, he hated hulking out only to find out that the Hulk’s presence wasn’t necessary.

Fury sighed and answered with a simple, “Hopefully neither.” Which usually meant he would be providing back up only if it was necessary. “Based on the reports we are dealing with the Wrecking Crew, intel isn’t clear on how many of the actual members are there so you’ll need to keep your eyes open.”

“Yes, sir.” Cap answered and ended the call as he relayed instructions to Jarvis to have Tony on standby and left to grab his shield.

Bruce sighed and started the quinjet, as his team went to suit up, preparing for takeoff. Looks like his quiet morning was going to end with a bang.

*

Tony was sitting in his office on his tablet, looking over the schematics R&D had dropped by earlier. Pepper had surprised him with the little fact that he not just had the share holders meeting but two other meetings to attend today – and he used the word attend tentatively – and the R&D meeting at noon was the only one he was looking forward to. He was vaguely aware of someone coming into the room but ignored them in favor of checking the schematics in front of him for any errors.

“Tony, the share holders meeting starts in 5 minutes and you can’t be late.” Pepper sighed.

Tony groaned. “Pepper, relax. My presence is not required in those meetings and you know it.”

“Tony, you own more than 50 percent of the company’s shares.” She said matter of factly. “You should be there. You just always make excuses to miss the meetings.”

“So why is this time any different, Pep? Why can’t I miss this meeting like I do the rest?”

“It’s different because you promised you’d start coming to meetings after you blew up the west wing of R&D.” Pepper retorted as she took the tablet from his hands. “Do you want me to remind you of the event leading up to that incident?”

“Aww, don’t pull the guilt card Pep.” Tony groaned as he stood from the chair. Pepper knew exactly what she was doing. At least this time she didn’t pull the Steve card, which she also constantly pulled when Tony was being uncooperative, knowing that the last thing Tony wanted was to have to see Steve’s disappointed look directed at him. Well the last thing he wanted was for Steve to withhold sex, which he usually did in these situations but he wasn’t going to tell her that.

Pepper smirked at Tony and pushed him toward the door, already knowing she won when Tony didn’t struggle. Sometimes Tony really hated Pepper.

They were almost to the door when the Avengers alert went off on Tony’s phone.

“Don’t you dare.” Pepper warned Tony as he took out his phone and asked Jarvis for a status report. Internally celebrating the fact that he would miss the share holders meeting, by the look on Pepper’s face, she was not happy about it.

His celebration however didn’t last long. “Captain Rogers, Thor, and Doctor Banner have been called to assist local authorities in a robbery down in lower Manhattan 20 minutes ago, sir.” Jarvis informed Tony and Pepper smiled at Tony again.

“So, Iron Man’s presence is not required right Jarvis?” Pepper asked in tone that Tony knew to mean she already knew the answer to her question.

“Correct, Ms Potts. Captain Rogers has not requested Iron Man’s presence but has instructed that he have the suit on standby.”

“Thank you, Jarvis.” Pepper answered before Tony had a chance to argue then turned her attention to Tony. “Share holders meeting, now.” She glared as Tony called Jarvis a traitor and ended the call.

Yeah, sometimes Tony really hated Pepper.

*

“We always miss all the action.” Clint groaned from where he and Tasha were looking over the Intel they had received on a Dr. Samuel Beckett.

“Maybe had you not shot those two trainees, I’d be inclined to let you help the rest of your team.” Fury told him before walking over to Hill to ask for an update from the situation on the ground.

“So this is a punishment?” Clint asked Fury’s retreating form and slumped down into his seat. “This blows.”

“Relax Agent Barton,” Phil said from where he was going through surveillance video, “If your presence was necessary, you’d be down there helping.”

“Yeah, so stop twitching or the next person to be shot in the ass is going to be you.” Natasha supplied with a smile that had Clint sliding his chair away from her. He has worked with her for long enough to know that she wasn’t opposed to shooting anybody, especially when they got on her nerves.

“I got something.” Phil called out and they walked over to see that the agent had frozen the video feed on a strange man standing next to the doctor they were investigating.

“Is that guy _purple_?” Clint asked, the video feed didn’t have a great quality but he was sure the man on the screen wasn’t what you would call “normal”.

“It appears so.” Phil answered as Fury made his way over to the three.

“It also appears that they are in DC, so you two,” Fury directed his glare at Clint and Tasha, “need to go down there and see what those two are up to. And I don’t need to tell you to be discreet.”

Tasha nodded and walked off without a question. Clint raised his eyebrows but followed along silently. If there was any information Tasha needed to share, she would no doubt do it when the time was right. He didn’t need to be sleeping with her to know that.

*

“What’s the status report from the Avengers?”

Phil sighed, not looking forward to explaining the situation to Fury. The Avengers – the available members anyway – had made it to the scene and cleared most of the civilians before facing off with two members of the Wrecking Crew. Thor going head to head with Bulldozer while Cap took on Piledriver; the Hulk hadn’t been needed so Bruce had been working with the local authorities to help the civilians trapped inside the bank vault. The civilians weren’t in any immediate danger and everything was going well, until it wasn’t.

Somehow the Wrecking Crew managed to rig a bomb to explode when the authorities made their way into the bank to rescue hostages which resulted in Bruce accidentally hulking out. From then on, it all went downhill. Cap made a tactical decision that civilian lives were more important than capturing the Crew so he and Thor focused their efforts on de-hulking Bruce and saving those caught in the explosion rather than going after the Wrecking Crew.

They worked for hours getting everyone out safely and by the end of it even the Norse god was exhausted and the Wrecking Crew got away. The only good news being that Bruce managed to de-hulk rather quickly and there were no casualties.

It had been a long day and based on the look on Fury’s face it was only going to get longer. Phil could only hope that Clint and Natasha were having a better time in DC.

*

The mission had been – informative. Fury had sent them down to DC to stakeout Dr. Beckett and the mysterious man seen with him in the security footage they obtained that morning. Beckett had been on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar since the physicist published a paper on theoretical time travel – though given S.H.I.E.L.D.’s interest in the subject, Natasha is willing to bet it may not be theoretical after all. The physicist had disappeared shortly after his publication and now that he reappeared it was their job to make sure he wasn’t planning anything crazy.

Natasha and Clint had left for DC shortly after the Avengers had been called in to deal with the Wrecking Crew and though they hated leaving their team, this took precedence.

The fact that they had discovered the Wrecker among Beckett and the Purple Man – there was no other way of describing him – had raised several alarms in her mind. Surely the Avengers being called in to assist with the Wrecking Crew in New York was no coincidence. Going by the look Clint had given her, he came to the same conclusion.

It was late when they arrived back at the tower. Clint believed it was smarter that the files and schematics they acquired be in the hands of the Avengers rather than S.H.I.E.L.D. and she agreed. If anyone could figure out what was on those papers it would be Bruce, Tony, and Jane. It was just past 3 in the morning and given the Avengers call earlier both men – if not every member in the tower – were probably still awake.

“Jarvis where is everybody.” Natasha asked as she and Clint made their way into the elevator.

“Sir and Doctor Banner are in the kitchen with Captain Rogers. Everyone else has gone to bed.”

“Thanks Jarvis.” Natasha answered pressing the button for the appropriate floor and turning to Clint. “On a scale from one to ten, how angry do you think Fury will be tomorrow?”

Natasha looked at the archer and he gave her a reluctant shrug. “’Bout a nine, but what else is new.” Clint was quiet for a few seconds then sighed loudly and sat on the floor with a conflicted look on his face. He took a deep breath before looking up at her from his place on the floor. “Tasha, what happens if it’s a time machine? I mean like one that actually works.” He asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?”

“What if this guy is building an actual working time machine? Do you think- I don’t know, that maybe Cap will want to go back?” Clint asked looking more troubled than Natasha had seen him in a long time.

To be honest, Natasha wasn’t sure. She knew – they all knew – that Steve was happy, being with Tony had certainly helped but she also knew how miserable this time had made him when he first woke up. Maybe he had just accepted his fate. Accepting the fact that he was here was not the same thing as wanting to be here. An opportunity to go back to his time was probably too big of a temptation to pass.

“I don’t know.” She finally answered him as the elevator dinged its arrival.

Natasha led the way to the kitchen in search for the others. They were all sitting around the kitchen island drinking coffee and Clint wasted no time in handing over the files for the men to look over, making sure the words _time travel_ were never vocalized.

Steve was sitting next to Tony absently holding his hand as he and Bruce were looking over the schematics to Beckett’s machine, throwing theories around on what it could be, and Natasha’s heart ached at the sight. Would this be the last time they were happy together? Would Steve leave Tony, the Avengers, to go back to a simpler time?

Clint squeezed her arm and she looked up to see the man frowning at her in concern. She unclenched the fists she was unaware she had made and relaxed, nodding at the man that she was alright. Clint released her arm and she gave him a small smile before going over to sit next to Steve.

“The Wrecker was in DC.” She told him, knowing he would catch on quick.

“So it was a distraction?” Steve asked. Natasha was hardly ever wrong.

“Most likely. It’s too big of a coincidence for it to be anything else.” Natasha answered taking out photographs from their surveillance and pushing them toward Steve. “This man was also present in DC which leads us to believe that there is something bigger at play.”

“Bigger how?”

Clint answered this time. “Well the Wrecking Crew is hardly looking to cooperate with scientists for any one of their jobs so more than likely they are hired thugs and the real mastermind behind all of this is either Dr. Beckett or Purple Man there. We just have to figure out what their plan is.”

Steve seemed to think this through before he finally spoke. “You’re probably right. If the Wrecking Crew was just a distraction then they are probably nothing more than the hired muscle.” Steve sighed, shaking his head. “Well whatever their plan is, it’s late and we’ve all had a long day. I think we should get some rest. We’ll regroup tomorrow and figure this out. Get some sleep.” Steve said that last part in his Captain America voice and slowly they all nodded and made their way to their sleeping quarters.

Maybe Steve would want to go back to the 40s, but the fact that he was here caring for his team meant he wouldn’t make that decision lightly and that was more than any of them could ask for.

*

Steve felt like he had just fallen asleep when the Avenger’s alarm went off. Yesterday had been a long day. Between Natasha and Clint going off to DC, Tony in meetings all day, and the rest of the team dealing with the aftermath of their fight with the Wrecking Crew, they had barely gotten any time to rest. Even his dinner plans were ruined, the whole day had been a complete and total bust.

Natasha and Clint had, however, not arrived empty handed. Steve had no doubt that with the Intel they gathered the team would be able to discover what was going on. Unfortunately, today probably wasn’t going to be any easier.

Steve could see Clint and Bruce already in the quinjet when he arrived, Tony and Thor not far behind.

“What’s the situation?” He asked the archer as he approached the quinjet.

“The Wrecking Crew has been spotted West of Central Park.” Coulson answered, appearing from behind Steve, Natasha at his side. “They appear to be doing nothing more than structural damage, which based on the Intel Agents Barton and Romanoff provided means this may be another distraction.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. is already on scene getting civilians out of harm’s way.” The archer added as the quinjet took off.

Steve nodded at the agents. “Right, well let’s get to the scene and find out what their play is. Iron Man were you and Banner able to make anything of the schematics?”

“Well at first glance it appears to be some sort of basis for time machine of some sort. Based on Beckett’s papers and the files we looked at last night, however, we think it’s something else. Something having to do with inter-dimensional travel of some sort. Several components would be redundant if time travel was the case -” Tony began what was sure to be another famous Stark rant – and god did Steve love this man – before Bruce thankfully cut him off.

“What Tony is trying to say is that so far what we can make of the schematics is that theoretically it has the potential to alter time or reality but there’s no way to be sure since the information was incomplete.”

“Right, what he said.” Tony agreed and patted Bruce on the back once before turning toward Steve. “So what’s our play Cap?”

“Containment. I want the Wrecking Crew under S.H.I.E.L.D. custody until we figure out what this Beckett guy’s plan is. Thor, I want you to take the Wrecker, your hammer is the best defense against his crowbar. Banner, I want the Hulk to take on Piledriver. Iron Man, you and Hawkeye got Bulldozer. Black Widow and I will take on Thunderball. I want these guys taken out quickly and safely.” Steve called out orders as Clint landed the quinjet a safe distance away from where the Wrecking Crew were causing havoc.

“Everyone is to be on comms at all times, and keep your eyes peeled for Beckett or the Purple Man.” Coulson called out as they shuffled out of the quinjet.

When they arrived on scene the Wrecking Crew looked ready for them. Though Steve could see that they clearly out matched the Wrecking Crew, the thugs looked surprisingly at ease and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Keep your eyes open. Something isn’t right.” Steve called out and hoped to high heaven that no one – Tony – did anything stupid, like go into the situation head first and without backup.

“Well well well, look who finally made it to the party.” The Wrecker called out with a laugh, gripping his crowbar with both hands.

“It’s about time,” Piledriver chimed in, “I was beginning to think the mighty Avengers had given up after yesterday.

“You know me. I always like to make an entrance.” Tony retorted and brought a hand up, leveling a repulsor at Bulldozer’s head. “Now, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?”

At Tony’s question the four of them took defensive stands and Thunderball wielded his demolition ball in a circle above his own head before throwing it straight at Iron Man’s head.

“Have it your way.” Tony said as dodged the ball and sent a repulsor blast toward Thunderball, sending him flying back and just like that the fight started.

The fight was a relatively easy one. The Wrecking Crew was getting tired, that much was evident but they were taking far too long to take them into custody. Given that this was probably nothing but a distraction, they needed to end this faster.

They were all in combat when they heard Coulson report that Beckett and the Purple Man had been spotted. Thor had already taken down the Wrecker and was currently assisting Iron Man while Hawkeye distracted Piledriver with exploding arrows for the Hulk to take down. Steve was momentarily distracted by Coulson’s announcement when everything went wrong. A bright light coming from the park’s side entrance started brightening the sky and he ended up on the wrong side of Thunderball’s demolition ball.

He had barely gotten to his feet when he turned and saw Thunderball coming toward him.

Natasha climbed on his back and electrocuted him with her stingers before he reached him. “Thunderball is down.” She called out when Tony flew past them, “I got movement on the south side.”

“Iron Man, wait for backup.” Steve called out. This was exactly what he had been afraid of.

“Can’t do that, Cap.” Tony replied in a strained voice and Steve knew he was headed straight for where Beckett and the Purple Man had been spotted.

“Tony!” Steve called out before an explosion of bright light enveloped him and everything went dark.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: The machine Jane is working on had a completely different name when the story was originally written (and it was pretty fucking cool if you ask me) but I had to change it because it made me sad. As it turned out, it was also the name of a certain sports team that shall not be named and it would make me cry when editing so I changed it.


	2. Chapter 2

His head hurt. He hadn’t felt this bad since-

Tony sat up suddenly. He had been on the field with- He couldn’t remember. He was in bed, in Malibu- _in Malibu?_ _Didn’t the mansion blow up?_

“JARVIS?” Tony asked unsteadily.

“Good morning sir.”

Tony sighed in relief at the fact that JARVIS was there and functioning, though he wasn’t sure why. “What day is it?”

“It is currently 9:06 am on Monday, March 26, 2018.”

“My head is killing me.” Tony muttered and rubbed at his temple. “JARVIS, what happened last night?”

“Last night you attended the Big Bang Gala at the California Academy of Science. You arrived home, around 3:43 am and promptly fell asleep.”

That didn’t make sense. Tony wasn’t at a Gala he was- having trouble remembering.

“Sir, Ms. Potts is waiting for you in the kitchen, she asks that you come down as soon as you are presentable.”

“Thanks JARVIS, I’ll be right down.”

Tony got up, putting on a pair of sweatpants before making his way to the kitchen. He may not know what was going on but Pepper would, she always did.

*

Clint was walking through the crowd when he spotted the agent.

“Shit. Just my luck.”

He had woken up in a dirty hotel room on the edge of some small town, no knowledge of how he got there or why he was there. But that didn’t matter right now. He could figure it out later. Right now the only thing that mattered was his escape. He took off towards the parking lot before he was made.

“Out of all the towns in this god forsaken country, Phil has to show up to this-” Clint cut himself off. _Phil? Who’s Phil?_

He shook his head and took off to his left. If he made it to his bike before he was spotted he knew he could get away. He made it to the parking lot but spotted a black sedan with tinted windows blocking his path to the bike.

“Fuck. Time for a new plan.”

He half turned and joined a group of teens heading for the other side of the parking lot, he needed a ride.

*

“Please, I have a wife. I have kids!” The man begged for what had to be the hundredth time.

Natasha took out her knife and began to sharpen it, steadily walking towards the man tied to a kitchen chair. She already knew this, she always knew everything about her marks, it made her job easier. She felt bad, she did - even though she wasn’t sure why – but this was her job and his family weren’t her problem. She had gotten the call early in the morning and didn’t ask questions, as long as she was paid, that was the only thing that mattered. She had a job to do.

“Please. I can pay you anything. I’ll give you anything you ask for. I can pay twice what your employer paid. PLEASE!” the man begged.

That on the other hand interested her. She turned toward him and raised her brow as she strode over to sit on his lap.

“What are you offering?” She whispered into his ear. She wasn’t sure if her employer was listening in and she preferred to do business in private.

“Anything, anything you want, but please don’t kill me.” The man began to cry.

Her phone vibrated on the table across the room. She moved off the businessman’s lap and went to retrieve it.

>>The price of his head just went up

It vibrated again.

>>Three fold

“Sorry, it really is nothing personal.” She apologized as she went to stand behind the man and slit his throat.

Packing up and sending a text to her employer.

<<it is done

The reply came almost immediately >>transfer complete

Natasha threw the disposable cell in a dumpster on her way to hail a taxi. She had to get to the airport and catch her flight. She had another job to do.

*

“Professor Banner!”

He turned to see one of his undergraduate students making his way to his office. He sighed, this was the third time this week this student came during his office hours and quite frankly all he wanted was to be left alone.

“What can I do for you Mr. Williams?”

“Sorry to bother you again, but-”

Bruce resisted the urge to sigh once more but turned to walk into his office. If he was going to do this he might as well be comfortable while he was bombarded with questions that could be answered by looking in the book.

“I was having trouble understanding how to use the Hamiltonian equation to solve for an unknown dissipative system. I know you said we have to integrate the force to get a potential-”

This time Bruce sighed loudly, interrupting his student. “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."

His student looked confused and Bruce immediately felt bad, that was the last time he quoted Ton- _who was he quoting?_ Bruce shook his head.

“I’m sorry Ian. I’ve just had a long day. You were saying.”

“It’s alright professor, really. I have been bothering you a lot this week haven’t I?”

“Well yes,” Bruce admitted, “but it’s my job to help you with any questions you may have. Please continue and I will help you in any way I can.”

“No worries professor, this homework isn’t even due for another two weeks. I’ll just come back later.” His student rose and walked out the door, with a sheepish look on his face.

Bruce took a few breaths and looked out the window, he wasn’t sure why but he felt strange today, he felt lonely. It wasn’t an unusual feeling for him but today he felt lonelier than usual. He hadn’t felt this lonely since the day he lost Betty.

*

Thor walked into the dinning chambers.

“My son, come and join us.” Frigga called from the table.

Thor could see Frigga and Odin at the head of the table, Sif and the warriors three were also there already seated as was Loki- _Loki?_

“Brother! What are you doing here?”

Loki looked at Thor as if he had gone crazy. “I live here, do I not?”

“Well yes, but I thought-” everyone was looking at Thor with various expressions of concern.

“Thor, is everything alright?” Sif asked from her seat.

“Have you taken ill my son?” Frigga asked as she rose from her seat and made her way to Thor’s side.

“No mother, I just-”

“You know how Thor is mother. Brute and arrogant, he is probably just upset about seating arrangements.” Loki said not without resentment. “What, did I take the seat you wanted beside Sif?”

“No, I do not want to sit next to her. That is not what this is about.”

Thor didn’t miss the hurt look on Sif’s face at his declaration.

“Loki! Thor! That is enough.” Everyone in the room turned to look at Odin as he stood. “I don’t know what you two are fighting about today, but you will both sit down and join us for dinner or leave these chambers. Am I understood?”

“Yes, father.” Thor replied at the same time Loki said, “Fine” and walked out of the chambers.

*

**March 1946**

_Thunderball was coming toward him. Natasha climbed on his back and electrocuted him before he reached him. “Thunderball is down.”_

_Tony flew past them, “I got movement on the south side.”_

_“Iron Man, wait for backup.”_

_“Can’t do that, Cap.”_

_“Tony!”_

It was cold. Very cold. No, it was warm, very warm. There was a voice. Voices?

“Come on Steve, wake up.”

A man.

“What do we do now Stark?”

_Stark? Tony. Tony? Who’s Tony?_

“Sir, his vitals seem to be stabilizing. I think he’s waking up.” An unfamiliar voice spoke.

“Steve, can you hear me? It’s Howard, come on Steve, open your eyes.”

“Private, go get Agent Carter.”

_Agent Carter? Peggy._

Steve slowly opened his eyes, blinking his eyes against the bright overhead lights. He grunted and tried to say something, gagging when he felt the tube down his throat.

“Easy now.” A blonde woman in a nurse uniform said as she began to remove the tube. “There you go.”

“Welcome back Captain.”

“Phillips.” Steve croaked, coughing to clear his airway. “What-”

“By God Stark,” Phillips interrupted and turned to Howard, “you did it.”

 _Stark._ Steve turned, deflating a little when he saw Howard, “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

Steve gave them a small smile, “Thanks, what happened?”

“You saved the world-” Phillips started as the doors flew open.

“Steve.”

“Peggy.” Steve couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face as he looked at the woman he had once lost. He had never been so happy to see anyone-

His smile faltered.

“Oh Steve.” Tears began to stream down her face as she sprung forward to hug him. “I can’t believe it. You’re alive, you’re back.”

“Yeah. I’m back.” Steve replied, hugging her tightly. He was back, he should be happy right? Right.

*

“Tony. Why aren’t you dressed yet? We are supposed to be downtown in 10 minutes.” Pepper chastised him as he entered the kitchen.

“Downtown? Pepper what are you talking about?” Tony began to protest, he didn’t know what was going on and now Pepper was telling him he needed to go downtown.

“Yes downtown, Tony. You and Obie need to meet with General Ross about renewing the weapons contract and you know Obie hates when you’re late to meetings with the military.”

_Wait, what? Weapons contract? Obie? Isn’t he-_

“Tony?” He looked up to see her approaching him with a worried look on her face. “Are you alright? You’re looking a little pale, come sit down.” She pulled him over to the kitchen table and placed her hand on his forehead. “Tony, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I – I honestly don’t know. I -” Everything felt wrong, he couldn’t breathe. _What am I doing in Malibu? Wasn’t I in New York? Where is-_

His chest hurt - it wasn’t a physical pain, more like a deep ache in his soul, if your soul could ache - and his vision was starting to blur, something was seriously wrong.

“Tony. Tony! Are you ok? Oh god. JARVIS, call for help.” Pepper’s voice sounded far away but he could feel her hands on his shoulders keeping him from falling over.

“I’m ok, Pep. Don’t call anyone, I’m fine.” Tony pleaded with Pepper as he regained his breath and felt the world stop spinning.

“Tony, you are not fine. I’ve never seen you like this. We should call a doctor or take you to the hospital or something.”

“No, Pepper. No hospital, please, I’m fine.” Tony repeated as he rubbed his hand over his face and felt tears running down his face. _Tears?_

“Ok that’s it. I’m calling Obie and cancelling the meeting. You are clearly in no condition to be doing anything right now.” Pepper told him as she took out her phone.

Tony felt a wave of relief hit him. He wasn’t sure why but he was sure that it had something to do with Obie and the weapons contract. Nothing made sense. He’s known Obie all his life, he was always happy to see him yet he found himself dreading the idea of being face to face with the man. He also knew Stark Industries was in the weapons business, but something told him it wasn’t right. He just wished he could remember what it was.

*

“Sir, we lost him.”

Damn it. They had been after him for almost two months and had barely been able to catch even a glimpse of the man until her arrived in Utah and now he was in the wind again.

Coulson sighed and turned to the junior agent. “I want eyes everywhere. We need to know where he went. We can’t let his trail run cold.”

The agent nodded and moved to his station, “And when we find him I don’t want to lose him again, is that clear?” He didn’t wait for a response and walked away.

Next time he caught up to him, he wasn’t going to let him escape.

*

“On your left.”

Sam couldn’t help but smile and try to speed up a bit. He knew it was useless to try to race St- Sam stopped in his tracks as two women jogged passed him toward the Lincoln Monument.

“What the hell?” He whispered as he looked around, feeling disoriented.

The women kept jogging and the few people strolling about this early in the morning didn’t spare him a second glance. He suddenly felt exposed running out in the open without any back-up. _Back up?_

Sam shivered in the cold morning air. He wasn’t in the Air Force anymore, he didn’t need to watch his back anymore. He started jogging again but this time in the direction of home. If you could even call an empty house a home. He was suddenly not in any mood to continue his morning jog.

He felt alone and couldn’t figure out why. He’d been on his own for years now.

*

Clint ended up hitching a ride with some college students who were touring the country.

He had followed some kids into the parking lot, hoping to lose the agents on his trail when he found his ride. As soon as he had seen the two students stoking up on junk food he knew they would be his best bet to get out of town, and he didn’t waste any time charming his way into joining them. He was on the road before the agents probably realized they had lost him.

Clint also ended up leaving the student at a rest stop 5 miles outside of Salt Lake but given that it was so close to a major city, he didn’t feel bad. At least they could get help soon enough, and by that time he would probably be in another state so there was no danger.

Now that he could relax, at least for a while, Clint wondered what his next move would be. He could go into Canada and wait for the agents to forget about him or he could go down to Mexico and take a long needed vacation. The only problem was that something didn’t feel right.

He could in theory go anywhere he wanted but he couldn’t help the nagging feeling that something was wrong, missing even.

He had been on the road for couple of hours until he saw a sign that declared that he was ‘Now Leaving Utah’ and ‘Entering Colorado’.

“I guess I’m going east then.”

*

**March 1946**

Steve had gone through a slew of medical exams when he was a child and prone to every sickness known to man, then again when he first became Captain America. Waking up from the ice wasn’t much different.

Steve sighed in relief as the nurse took one last vial of blood and walked out of the room. He hoped this was the end of it and he would finally be allowed to leave – though at the moment he wasn’t really sure where he would go since he didn’t exactly have a home. He felt a sharp pain in his chest at the thought. He didn’t have a home. He knew he should be happy that he didn’t die and leave his friends but he couldn’t help but feel a deep sadness settle in his chest. What was he supposed to do now? How was he going to be able to survive this time without-

A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Peggy and Howard at the door.

“May we come in Steve?” Peggy asked.

“Sure, of course. Come in.”

“How are you feeling?” Peggy asked as she sat on the cot next to him.

“This must be quite a strange situation for you.” Howard remarked as he sat on the chair across from them.

“Yeah, it is.” Steve said with a smile. “But I’m okay. I’m happy.” He lied.

Peggy gave him a questioning look. “You’ve been missing for a year, Steve. It’s a miracle Howard was able to find you in the ice.”

“Alive, no less.” Howard added and Peggy sighed, taking Steve’s hand in her own, smiling up at him.

“We’re glad you’re back, even if you never did make it to our date.”

Howard gave a small chuckle and looked away while Steve smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, to reassure her of his presence. Another knock drew their attention to the door followed by Colonel Phillips and the doctor walking into the room. “Captain Rogers,” the doctor spoke as he looked down at his chart, “all your test results came back normal.”

“Does that mean I can leave?” Steve asked earning a chuckle from everybody in the room.

“Yes Captain,” the doctor laughed and signed his chart, “you can leave.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“At ease soldier, the war is over.” Colonel Phillips said from the doctor’s side. “You saved the world. Now go out there and celebrate.” He patted Steve on the back and walked over to speak to Howard.

“And I believe you owe me a dance.” Peggy added quietly from his side.

This was right. This was how it was suppose to be. The war was over, he stopped Hydra. He had his whole life ahead of him. He had his friends, he had Peggy. So, why was he so sad?

*

Natasha had arrived in Denver before her previous mark – some well-known business man - had even been reported as missing. She usually liked to take time off between jobs, traveling the world or keeping close tabs on those that may be a threat, but her current employer was adamant that she get rid of his competition before some expo at the end of the month.

She looked over the files of her next mark – another business man – once more before making her way to his private estate. This was to be the simplest of the three jobs she was hired to do. She simply had to rig the house to blow and move on to her next mark. Simple.

Except her mark was supposed to be the only casualty and as she arrived to her destination she could see that he was not alone. A woman – probably the wife – and three kids were there with him.

<<this wasn’t part of the deal

Natasha sent off the text before she made the conscious decision to do so. She normally only sent her employers two texts one before and another after the job was completed but something told her she wasn’t going to be completing this job.

>>You are being paid to blow up the house

<<i was hired to get rid of Brand not his family

>>Fine. I’ll pay 50k for each additional head

Natasha looked at the text and frowned. _Is this really what it comes down to?_

>>Do we have a deal?

<<no

Natasha drove off, throwing the disposable phone out the window. This wasn’t what she signed on for. She knew it didn’t make sense. She wasn’t proud of it, but she had killed children before, whole families even. This wouldn’t be anything new but she just couldn’t do it. _Why is it important this time?_

She couldn’t answer that question.

*

Bruce remembered life with Betty. She was smart, strong, and beautiful. She was everything Bruce wanted and of course she had his heart. He could still remember the last time he held her hand, looked into her eyes, and the last breath she took.

Bruce sighed heavily, feeling his grief take over. He needed a distraction and some fresh air, anything to take his mind off the loneliness that seemed to plague him these days. He had a desk full of papers that needed grading but they could wait, he was losing control and he had to stay in control. He didn’t want the other guy to come out- _The other guy?_

Bruce took a deep breath and willed himself to relax. He wasn’t going to accomplish anything by losing the little control he had thinking of what he could have had.

*

Something was wrong. Thor felt it the moment he awakened in Asgard and not in- _Where?_

“Thor, is everything alright?” Sif asked as she joined him by the fireplace. “You don’t seem like yourself tonight.”

“I am not myself, Sif. I fear something is terribly wrong.” Thor replied.

“Does this have anything to do with Loki? Perhaps the declining relationship with your brother has affected you more than you thought.” Sif seemed to be trying to comfort him, placing her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

“Perhaps you are right. But that wouldn’t explain-” Thor sighed, there was something pulling at his mind, something akin to a memory but different, as if it were from another life.

“Thor?”

He sighed and smiled up at Sif. “Worry not for whatever it is shall surely be gone by tomorrow.”

Sif smiled back and invited him to spar, which he accepted. Surely it was what his body needed to stop his mind from wondering.

*

Tony was down in his workshop when Pepper found him.

“Okay talk.” She demanded as she strode over to where he was going over SI schematics from the last five years.

Tony sighed and leaned back in his chair. “There is nothing to talk about.”

“I may have believed that if I hadn’t just seen you crying in the kitchen, Tony.” She sighed and pulled up a chair beside him. “I’ve known you long enough to know that something is wrong. Even you wouldn’t use tears to get out of a meeting. So I’ll ask you again, what’s going on?”

Tony made sure to keep his eyes on the screen when he replied. “I told you, I don’t know.” He sighed and looked down at his hands.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Pepper finally spoke again. “Tony, who’s Steve?”

 _Steve? Steve_.

_He was working on his latest armor when JARVIS interrupted him. “Sir, Captain Rogers is requesting entry to the workshop.”_

_Tony froze, the team rarely bothered him when he was in his workshop. “Let him in.”  He took a deep breath and turned to face the door. “Hey Capsicle, what’s up?”_

_“Tony.” Steve spoke from the workshop door. “How long have you been down here?”_

_“Don’t know Cap, a few hours. JARVIS how long have I been down here?”_

_“Sir has been down here almost 10 hours.”_

_“Really, that long?” Huh. Tony hadn’t even realized he missed lunch, let alone dinner._

_“Tony.” Steve sighed. “You need to take a break. The team is setting up movie night, why don’t you come and join us?”_

_Tony wanted to protest, tell him he was working on something important. Tell him he just couldn’t afford any delays on his project. Tell him to leave him alone. But Steve was looking at him with gorgeous blue hopeful eyes so instead he opened his mouth and said, “Sure, I guess I could use some food.” The smile Steve gave him was worth the delay it would cost him._

“Tony! TONY! Are you okay?” Pepper asked shaking him.

“I’m fine.” Tony had his head in his hands, _what was that?_

“Okay, well if you’re fine then answer my question. Who’s Steve? You kept repeating his name in the kitchen, and you sort of started freaking out just now when I-”

“I don’t know!” Tony answered cutting Pepper off. “I don’t know.” He repeated, whispering softly, feeling like he was losing his mind.

Pepper sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tony, it’s alright. Breathe. Everything is going to be okay.”

Tony felt himself relax again – though he could still feel tears prickling his eyes - and leaned into her touch.

“I don’t know who he is Pep.” And he wasn’t lying. He didn’t know who Steve was. But that was no surprise. Right now, he didn’t know who he was either.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I almost went with a completely different storyline for Bruce and had him be alone with the Avengers and happy with Betty in this new life. I couldn't do that to poor Bruce though, he deserves to be happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading. My main blog on tumblr is [picklepotatoe14](http://picklepotatoe14.tumblr.com/) and my stony blog is [superstars-stripes](http://superstars-stripes.tumblr.com/), come say hi.


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